The invention relates to fishing boats and more specifically to commercial fishermen that use a pursing net that is gathered next to the ship at which time the fish captured within the pursing net are scooped out therefrom and deposited in the storage chambers of the ship.
In the past, it has been common to use a brailing pole for scooping the fish out of the pursing net. Three or four crew members are usually on a skiff floating adjacent the pursing net and it is their job to push the front end of the brailing pole with the brailing net mounted thereon down under the fish captured in the pursing nets so they may be scooped up. There are brackets mounted on the ring supporting the brailing net and lines are attached thereto that are retractably supported from a boom on the ship. The rear end of the line is attached to a winch which raises the brailer net portion of the brailing pole upwardly out of the water with fish captured therein. The boom is then pivoted to transport the brailer net over the deck of the ship and it is then lowered to a fish deposit station. Once the brailer net has been emptied of its catch, the brailing pole is returned to the crew members aboard the skiff.
Often times the sea is rough and causes the skiff to bob like a ball on the water. This makes it difficult for the crewmen aboard the skiff to push the brailer net at the forward end of the brailing pole down into the fish captured within the pursing net. Occasionally one or more of the crewmen lose their balance, falling into the water, while performing their job and their rescue causes a time consuming delay in loading the catch into the ship.
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel brailing system for commercial fishing boats that allows the catch to be transferred from the pursing net to the ship much quicker.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel brailing system for commercial fishing boats that is safer for the crewmen who work in the skiffs.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel brailing system for commercial fishing boats that eliminates one or more crewmen from the previous process of dipping the brailing pole into the pursing net in order to scoop up the fish therein.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel brailing system for commercial fishing boats that is economical to manufacture and install.